Tuesday, February 10, 2015

GUMSHOE GM Jam: Play on Target Special Ep #6

This week the Play on
Target podcast looks at the GUMSHOE system from Pelgrane Press. As I
mention in the episode we opted to do the broader GUMSHOE system first. We want
to showcase what it does and debunk some myths about it. In the future we may
put together GM Jams about particular iterations of the system. For this
episode we gathered together four amazing GMs to talk about their experiences. They
discuss what the system is, how they’ve used it at the table, and what they’ve
gotten from it.

If you’re enjoying these GM Jams (or not), give us a heads
up. If you have suggestions for specific games or settings we should cover,
tell us in the comments. Our aim with these is to help new gamers decide if
these are for them and give GMing advice to those already running the system.

We mention this towards the end of the episode, but it’s
worth stressing. GUMSHOE games aren’t necessarily about solving a mystery with
a capital “M.” They’re about gathering information for a purpose. In that way
they’re like most games. Players usually work towards figuring things out-
about other people, about the broader situation, about a dungeon they’re going
into. I suspect that happens in most games, with some stressing it more than
others. GUMSHOE pulls that out and makes it a focal sub-system. As Steve
mentions, it offers an interesting way to handle the flow of information and
give players a connection to it.

Various GUMSHOE versions aim at different kinds of info.
When I look at Ashen Stars, I see a
game where the players examine problems and figure out fixes. They’re not
coming to an ending accusation scene in the drawing room. Instead they have to
learn about various possible solutions and figure out which works best (or
causes them the least blowback). So while they might be moving towards a
conflict, they’d better have found enough info to deal with that at the end.
Sherri, on the other hand, believes that Mutant
City Blues shows how you can investigate in an irrational world. It offers
a structure to “play fair” in a setting of bizarre powers. The Quade Diagram presents
an interactive tool for that. Trail of
Cthulhu asks you to learn about the Mythos and the nature of the creatures
you might face, The Gaean Reach slowly
reveals the path to the villain, and Night’s
Black Agents is about figuring out who and what your enemies actually are.

What other kinds of information could be structured this
way? Imagine a Ninja or Assassin’s Creed
style game where the players have to gather intelligence in order to strike at
a target (a riff I’ve done with Neo Shinobi Vendetta at cons). Or a diplomatic/trader style game, where
characters have to learn about local cultures or power networks? Or a version
of White Wolf’s Hunter the Reckoning,
with the characters uncovering the World of Darkness?

GUMSHOE WORLD

In our Apocalypse World GM Jam, the participants described the toolbox nature of that game. Apocalypse World includes many features,
systems, and modules. It provides an array of mechanics. But GMs of AW don’t
necessarily use everything there. And games built on it don’t either. These can
focus on different elements: so some powered by AW games include Fronts, some
include heavy conflict resolution, some include social moves. In the same way
we can look at the various pieces of GUMSHOE. They’re rich and elaborated, but
we can pull out elements to fit our game’s theme.

I’d say the two big modules are Investigative Abilities and
Resource-Driven Abilities. The former, in the form of choice of abilities and
application, shapes the flow of information. The latter can ratchet tension
through scarcity, add dynamic bonuses (cherries, MoS), and show competency.
Beyond that we have a host of other interesting sub-systems to tweak (how to
structure investigations, handling unusual powers, contest-based ship fighting,
corruption/ insanity). Each version of GUMSHOE reconfigures some mechanics to
fit the theme (like grenades, abilities functions). They also bring new
elements to the table. I think gamers and designers ought to be looking at
GUMSHOE as a set of tools which they can make use of in other ways.

THE GUMSHOE SRD

In the podcast we don’t mention the existence of Open GUMSHOE. Pelgrane released both a CC and OGL version of that. We’ve
seen at least one product come out under that license (Against the Unknown). As well at others are on
the horizon, like Ken Hite’s Bubblegumshoe (Teen Sleuths & Drama) and Cam
Banks’ “Magic Shoe” (mixing Ars Magica
and GUMSHOE). I’m hoping we see more designers playing with these tools and
elements. For example, mixing GUMSHOE with particular historical periods feels
obvious (Tokugawa Japan, Ancient Rome, Medieval England) given the abundance of
detective fiction aimed at that. Alternately something which echoes the
replicant hunting of Blade Runner or
the deep paranoia of 1984 could be
great. I’ve talked about this last one before, mixing evidence gathering with
political reputation and scapegoating.

GHOST IN THE SHILL

On a slightly related note, Play on Target has been nominated for the Golden Geeks for Best
Podcast. I’m under no illusions about winning, given the excellence of the
competition (K&RTAS!). But if you have a BGG/RPGGeek/VideoGame Geek
account, consider going over there and voting. It would be great to get more
voices and perspectives for the various RPG Items like Game of the Year and
Best Supplement. There are some great choices there (and oddly some not yet
released Kickstarters). Anyway take a look!

If you like RPG Gaming podcasts, I hope you'll check it out.
We take a focused approach- tackling a single topic each episode. You can
subscribe to the show on iTunes or follow the podcast's page at www.playontarget.com.